You would be better off with something earthed though so run an extension lead fitted with an RCD plug into the bathroom when you need it. It's not really any more dangerous than having electricity in the kitchen. I'm sure there is a way of having a permanent 13A socket in a bathroom under current regulations but I don't recall what it was. I think someone told me about it a few years ago (or I dreamed it!).

Another option would be a shaver socket designed for a bathroom if there is one available of suitable wattage as these have an isolating transformer.

Originally Posted by salan

But I am pretty sure that does not meet regs on safety!

The regulations only apply to installation. It's up to you to decide what you are going to plug into it.

Originally Posted by salan

Or do you just say blow it and do it anyway?

Personally, yes. But it would be foolish of me to advise others to do likewise!

Just do what is done in industry. Do a risk assessment. Think of all of the things which could happen which could result in electrocution (and I bet you can't find many) then think of the likelihood of any of them occurring. Anything you find unsafe which is likely to happen needs to be addressed.

Don't include ridiculous things (like some people at work do) such as using the enlarger whilst taking a bath and wearing a tin foil hat in a thunderstorm.

EDIT: All of the shaver sockets I have found are only rated at 20 watts which isn't enough. Another option if you have an enlarger with a twelve volt bulb and separate power supply is to put the power supply in another room and just run the twelve volt supply into the bathroom with a suitably thick cable.

Steve.

Last edited by Steve Smith; 07-10-2012 at 04:02 PM. Click to view previous post history.

"People who say things won't work are a dime a dozen. People who figure out how to make things work are worth a fortune" - Dave Rat.

From where I sit, it's a bit difficult to understand the angst which has been expressed here about power in the bathroom. Every bathroom in Australia which has been built since the advent of hair dryers and electric shavers has at least one "full strength" power point, i.e. 10 amps = 2400 watts. Enlargers, safelights, timers, and any other electrified darkroom equipment don't come anywhere near demanding that much power.

You need to bear in mind that in England, our governments consider us to be total idiots who constantly need to be protected from ourselves. Therefore, all you are likely to find in a bathroom is a light fitting and possibly a shaver outlet which is transformer isolated and limited to 20 watts.

If your bathroom has an airing cupboard with an electric immersion heater (or still has the wiring for one) a 13A socket spurred from that is another option.

Steve.

"People who say things won't work are a dime a dozen. People who figure out how to make things work are worth a fortune" - Dave Rat.

When I moved into my old flat the bathroom had a double 13A mains socket, just above the skirting board, next to the bath side panel in the firing line from any splashes that weren't caught by the shower screen.

This was a few years before I started darkroom work, so there wasn't even the slightest temptation to leave it in situ!

Yes this is the problem.
A 20 watt shaver socket is all you will get apart from the lights.
I think the regs say something like anything se has to be hardwired in via a spur. Def no sockets.
Compared to other countries its a nanny state.

Tell you what, Alan. Drill a 3/8" hole in the wall into the next room. Get an extension cord, cut off the plug. Put the cord through the wall. Put on a replacement plug. Pug into an outlet in the next room. When you move, remove cord, spackle hole.

Over here we protect our idiots by using a ground fault interrupter; also Tesla designed our electrical system, 120V is not going to kill anyone, contrary to folktales. I have a mere 20 amp dedicated circuit in my apartment's bathroom, probably put there for the construction crews to use when building the apartment building. I added the GFI (and the ceiling vent fan), good old Boone had no building codes when this building was built in '65.

If you can not use the bath, how about the kitchen? The laundry room? Spare bedroom? A closet? Cupboard under the stairs (Hey, that is where my workstation resides, I had to put a 4x4 inch hole in the wall to the kitchen for electrical and network cabling)? A tin shed in the back yard? How about in the caravan?

My 2 cents worth:
First, let me declare that I don't have a darkroom/bathroom (notice the darkroom was listed first) because I have access to a fully equipped darkroom at our local art gallery where I have most of my own equipment (I teach classes there). However, since nothing is for ever, I've been thinking about how I would set up a darkroom in my bathroom, if the need arose. My 2 cents worth are a penny each: (1) Because I'm concerned about my enlarger getting out of alignment from being moved frequently, I thought I would set up a permanent dry side in an adjacent room and use a paper safe to transport the exposed paper to my wet side (read: bathroom). Of course, this would necessitate two safe lights-not a big deal for me. (2) To conserve space in the bathtub, I would stack my trays on vertical shelving with each shelf offset from the one above and work my way down. I could do 16x20 prints and have 5 trays on the go (developer>stop>fix 1>fix 2> hypo). My print washer (I made one that can do 8x10 up to 16x20) would sit at the other end of the tub and be fed by the shower head and drain into the tub. Anyway, that's how I envision it. I'm looking forward to seeing JBrunner's finished project.

Dry side where you actually need the power in another room where you have the power?

Great idea. All you really need in the wet side is a timer, and there are battery ones around. And, a safe light, a bit more difficult, but one could screw colored bulbs into the regular fixtures as a make shift.

Of course there is always the problem that I had as a kid, as soon as I locked the door and got started there were a string of bangings on the door and shouts of "I have to use the bathroom".

Come to think of it all my personal darkrooms were in the bathroom, and only with a couple was I the only one who used that bathroom. It is strange how many people will ask you if they can use your darkroom, and get angrily demanding when you explain that they can not because it was also the family bathroom. I guess they subscribe to the Thoreau (Or was that Emerson? I always get them confused.) theory of economics, you don't need to buy and axe because you can always borrow your neighbor's axe. He did not say, but I assume he always returned it dull as well.

Someone mentioned using an Art Center darkroom, I had a deal with one of those once. I did some work for them supposedly in exchange for free use of the darkroom. Supposedly, because when I wanted to use the darkroom there was always some reason why I could not. The fact is I never had any luck using darkrooms other than my own, with the one exception being the Base Photo Hobby Shop when I was in the air force.